Improvement in water-proof cellars



T. NEW. v Water-Proof Cellar,

No. 206,351. Pat ented July 23,1878.

' 4% 1 E A x QM l7 Wizassw: Inventor: @/mgv M22 74/ N. FE 'ERS,PHDTmLWHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. n c.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

TOBIAS NEV, OF BROOKLYN, NEW' YORK.

IMPROVEMENT lN WATER-PROOF CELLARS.

Specification forming part. of Letters Patent No. 206,35I, dated July23, 1879; application tiled June 24, 1873.

To all whom it may concern.-

lte it known that I, TOBIAs NEW, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inConstructing ater-Proof Oel lars, Cisterns, 850.; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, making part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to the construction of waterproof cellars,cisterns, vaults, and all underground compartments and it consists in animproved combination of devices for re sisting the upward and horizontalor lateral pressure of water, and is an improvement on reissued PatentNo. 7,920, granted to me October 23, 1877.

The accompanying drawing is a vertical section of a cellar with thebottom and walls constructed according to my invention and showing myimprovement.

In all methods of making water-tight cellars heretofore we have had todepend upon a water-proof lining of impervious materials, the pressureof the water being counterbalanced by weight being placed on the floor.It is evident that, in cases where the water was deep and the foundationof the building was not sufficiently deep to allow the excavationnecessary to contain the required load or weight to counterbalance thegreat depth of water,- it would be impossible to get the necessaryamount of head room; and the lower down the water-proof lining is placedthe greater becomes the weight of masonry required, water being aboutone-half the weight of masonry.

The great desideratum has been to get some kind of construction thatshould offer the required resistance to counterbalance the upwardpressure of water, and still occupy a minimum depth, so that, by keepingas near the surface of the cellar as possible, or by stopping the waterat as high a level as possible, there would be less weight of water toovercome, and, of course, a proportionally less excavation and less costof construction.

In the drawing, A represents a cellar-wall, on the inner sides of whichI place my waterproof layer B. The inner wall 0 is constructed offla-gstones, or other suitable material of sufficient strength to resistan y expected pressure of water from without.

The floor is made smooth, with either coir crete or lumber, and thewaterproof lining B lS applied, extending, also, along the perpendicularwalls, as shown in the drawing, to a sufficient height to be above thegreatest rise of water. I next apply a layer of concrete, D, on thewater-proof lining, and then place across the cellar the tie-rods E, ofsufficient number and strength, when combined with the weight ofconcrete, to resist the upward pressure of the water.

The flag-stones G will be anchored at the top at a and backed up withconcrete at b, so that the tierods are held ri gidl yin their places,and prevented from rising when strain 1s brought upon them by the upwardpressure of the water. To complete the bottom and form the floor forstoring merchandise 'or other uses, and to prevent the flag-stones frombeing forced inward by the pressure of water and the strain of thetie-rods, I cover the tie-rods with another layer of concrete orartificial stone, or, if preferred, with a compact layer of brick ortiling.

It is evident that by this construction I form a flat arch or truss inthe bottom of great strength, and sufficient to counterbalance with sixor eight inches four to six feet depth of water.

The concrete below the tie-rod is made to resist the up ward pressure,tending to crown the floor and the tie-rods, re-enforce the same bytheir tensile resistance,'preventin g an arclnn g of the structure. Theeffect of the upward or lifting pressure of the water will be to bringthe strain on the tie-rods, and before the floor can be lifted the rodsmust break or the artificial stone must crush. By actual experiment Ihave learned that I can counterbalance the same amount of water withabout one-third the thickness of construction now required; consequentlytwo-thirds of the thickness of floor is saved and an equal amount ofexcavatiou.

This construction can be used in dams, T0561 voirs, &c., with greatsaving and advantage. The Portland cement will bond to the tie-rods,and, when hydrated, will prevent corrosion of the iron in the samemanner as mortar prcvents the iron anchor in brick buildings fromrusting.

Having thus explained my invention, What I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In Water-proof cellars, &c., the tie-rods E, in combination Withlayers of concrete or equivalent material, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In water-proof cellars, &c., the tie-rods E, in combination withlayers of concrete and water-proof lining, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. The improved method herein described of resisting the upward pressureof water, the same consisting of tie-rods, in combination with layers ofconcrete or other equivalent material, substantially as set forth.

' TOBIAS JEYV.

Attest:

NATHAN DUFF, 1. J. KEATING.

